Complementary Cancer Therapies
Our treatments focus on clinical nutrition (diet, vitamins, minerals, etc.), botanical medicines such as herbs, prescription medicines, some Chinese medicine, physical modalities such as hydrotherapy, manipulation and massage, psychological and spiritual strategies, lifestyle changes and more.
If you are using conventional treatments such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, etc., our therapies provide you the best of both worlds using natural medicines to keep you strong and healthy as possible while avoiding unwanted interactions.
If you have concluded conventional treatment, we will develop a prevention program to do everything possible to avoid a recurrence.
If you are not using conventional treatments, a natural medicine plan can be developed specifically for you.
Nutritional Supplements During Chemotherapy
Nutritional supplements are a key element of a successful naturopathic approach to cancer care. It is best to get expert help when selecting these to be certain that you are getting the correct supplement for you, and show your oncologist the label of every supplement before starting. Certain nutrients, herbs and multiple vitamins, even at low levels, can interfere with some chemotherapy agents. Contact our clinic if there is still a question about the safety or usefulness of a particular supplement.
• Consider a multiple vitamin mineral that contains 100% of the DV (Daily Value) of at least 15 essential vitamins and minerals. Values greater than 100% may interfere with your chemotherapy. Lower values may not provide much benefit. Many multiple vitamin-mineral products have only a few of the recognized essential nutrients. There should be at least 15 "required" nutrients. They can be identified with a "% DV" on the label. A quality multiple vitamin-mineral along with a good diet will provide your body the nutrients it needs.
• Nutritional supplements such as herbs, amino acids, enzymes, etc. can support immune function and reduce side-effects of conventional treatments. They have a wide variety of actions in the body.
• Consider supplements that do not contain iron, copper, dairy, eggs, wheat, sugar, salt or artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. They might bother you or interfere with treatment.
• If your chemotherapy is one that lowers white blood counts, consider supplements that are specified as low microbial to prevent infection.
For more information, read Complementary Cancer Therapies: Combining Traditional and Alternative Approaches for the Best Possible Outcomes by Dr. Dan Labriola which has become the gold standard in identifying how to bridge the gap between “conventional” and “alternative” medicine for cancer. He is also co-author of the landmark scientific paper “Possible Interactions Between Dietary Antioxidants and Chemotherapy” published in the prestigious journal Oncology, which explains how to safely combine nutrients with chemotherapy without creating interference.
